Midnight Confessions
by Belacquagirl
Summary: A one-shot of the night that Emma climbs down from the beanstalk. Just because the idea simply hit me and I needed to write some Snow/Emma fluff.
Everything was dark. Silent. Only the well known sounds of the forest surrounded her. The wind brushing softly in the trees and bushes around sent what seemed like calming waves towards her. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift to more pleasant times.

She imagined being in the palace gardens, breathing the fresh air and waiting Charming to come from behind her at any time. He would put his strong arms around her and whisper in her ear to be careful to not catch a cold. And she would rest her head on his shoulder, sinking in his warmth, while tenderly caressing their baby girl growing inside her now too big belly.

A noise. Her eyes shot open and her body entered in alert state while she looked for the source of the sound. After a moment of listening carefully she got up and silently walked around their camp boundary. Not seeing nor hearing anything out of the usual, she guessed it to be some animal that had wandered by too close. She turned her attention to the sleeping forms around her.

Aurora and Mulan were sound asleep by the remnants of the earlier fire. Emma had preferred to lie further away. Snow knew she needed her space and allowed her this as often as she could, but the blonde made her concerned so frequently… She understood that her daughter was used to dealing with things by herself, no matter how difficult the situation seemed, and that she would never put someone she cared about in danger, let alone the first person she considered family.

And that was what worried her. Her child was much too stubborn and much too brave. She had told Mulan to cut down the beanstalk as a precaution to her companions' safety. What could she be possibly thinking? It had been so reckless!

Slowly, she made her way to the third sleeper and sat beside her. She saw that Emma was curled up due to the chilly air and took off her cardigan, covering her with it; she wished she had something warmer to give her, or that the woman wouldn't feel uncomfortable for being embraced by her mother, even if only to get warm.

There came the sound again. Louder, closer.

Her muscles tensed up instantly, searching for the danger. And then, came a moan. The tension went away as fast as it had come as she finally realized the origin of the noise.

"Emma" she whispered in the blonde's ear "Emma, it's just a dream"

"Henry…" she murmured in her sleep

"Don't worry my darling, we're almost going home" She couldn't help it anymore. Every night she had been able to overrule the feeling while she sat beside her daughter during her shift. But not tonight. Not when she could have so easily lost her just a few hours back.

She reached a hand and stroked her baby's cheek. She could feel the love in her look and knew Emma would be frightened by it, but she didn't care.

Emma stirred and took a deep breath before slowly opening her eyes. They were heavy, sleep clinging to them as though as lead weights were pushing her eyelids down.

"Shhh" she whispered, moving her hands to caress her daughters' long and soft hair. The woman, however, squeezed her eyes shut before widening them, in a futile attempt to brush at least some of the sleep aside. She glanced up, locking eyes with the brunette. Her hand froze. For an instant, Snow was afraid that Emma would actually awake, uncomfortable with the closeness of her mother.

"I'm really sorry for earlier" she said quietly, taking Snow by surprise.

She didn't know how to respond to that. She had been furious, sure, but she was so glad to see her child on the ground and so taken aback by her hug that she couldn't force her anger to go on. A moment of silence passed between them.

"I imagine how you were feeling…" Emma's voice was now thoughtful, even though still rough with sleep "I was so relieved when Henry woke up in the hospital and so much happened so fast that I didn't have time to get angry at him to risk himself like that. And I… I did the same thing"

Her lips twitched into a soft smile; was her daughter feeling guilty?

"Go back to sleep. You'll need your energy for us to get home"

Emma simply nodded and closed her eyes again "I couldn't risk you not going back, you know? David needs you and Henry would be just as fine with you… You'd raise him better than I ever would"

"Emma, you listen to me: your father needs you as much as I do. Just as I, he would go to hell and back for you. And for Henry, you may not have experience in motherhood, but you're a wonderful mum and no one could ever replace you. They both need you much more than they need me"

Her child gave a small laugh, it was obvious that she didn't believe a word that her mother was saying. She moved closer to the dark haired woman, almost into her lap. In a few moments, Emma's breathing was heavy and even again.

Snow felt her chest filling with joy. Was Emma Swan accepting she had a mother that loved and cared about her? Certainly the independent and self-reliant woman was changing; she was gradually, but continually, letting her in, allowing her friend and mother closer, and that was enough to make Snow blissful.

"Sweet dreams my love" she whispered as her fingers resumed their way in her daughter's hair.


End file.
